Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft have operated alongside French warplanes in a combined operation against an hidden munitions depot in Syria operated by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK's MoD.
The site, located using reconnaissance, was assessed as housing weapons and explosive materials, the statement said, and was located in hills just north of the historic site of Palmyra in Syria's central region.
"Our aircraft used laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a series of access tunnels providing entry to the site... initial indications suggest the strike was effective," officials stated.
There was no indication of any harm to civilians in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned safely, the MoD added.
The British jets were supported by a Voyager aerial refuelling aircraft.
IS - referred to as the so-called Islamic State - imposed militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq until 2019.
"This strike underscores British leadership, and commitment to work closely with our partners, to stamp out any resurgence of Daesh and their violent and radical beliefs in the area," Britain's Defence Chief the Defence Secretary remarked.
RAF aircraft have performed patrols over Syria to "prevent any attempted comeback" of IS after its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in 2019, the authorities noted.
"I extend gratitude to every member of the UK armed forces involved in this strike for their expertise and their bravery," he said. "Including them were numerous UK service members deployed over the holidays. This mission, to remove dangerous terrorists who pose a risk to our way of life, shows how British military are always on standby, throughout the year, protecting the UK domestically and influential overseas."
During December, the United States armed forces carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" on Islamic State objectives in Syria, after an assault killed two American soldiers and a civilian linguist in the Palmyra area.
The United Nations estimates Daesh still has an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 militants in Iraq and Syria.
